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Seidler is managing editor, digital. She manages the
magazine's digital channels that includes multiple
daily e-newsletters featuring original content and
breaking news as well as pushing content to various
social media platforms. Seidler recently earned her
master's degree in technology and communications
through the University of North Carolina's School
of Media and Journalism. She can be reached at
KelseyS@LPportal.com.
Kelsey Seidler
LPM DIGITAL
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Does This Mean Goodbye to Sears?
By Bill Turner, LPC
Well, it finally happened. Sears filed for bankruptcy. For now, it's
only chapter 11, so there is still hope. Toys'R'Us and Circuit City are
both rumored to be making comeback attempts, and they liquidated.
So you never know. Only time will tell.
I'm willing to bet that Sears has touched almost everyone reading
this post in one way or another. It's worth looking up the history
of the company online to get a feel for just how many facets of
everyday life in the United States have, in some way, involved Sears.
Whether with its brands such as Die Hard, Craftsman, and Kenmore,
its companies such as Allstate, Land's End, Orchard Supply, or
Kmart, or with its once 3,500+ stores (including Kmart), Sears
was everywhere.
I know Sears has touched my life in a number of ways. My first
bike was a J.C. Higgins (Sears). My dad would buy nothing but
Craftsman tools (Sears). I still do. Die Hard batteries (Sears) powered
my cars for many years. I have a Kenmore (Sears) refrigerator in my
laundry room and still buy all my tee shirts from Land's End (once
Sears). Last, but certainly not least, my first retail job was at Sears in
Glendale, California, which I think is still there.
I worked in the marking room at night and on Saturdays. I still
have dreams of pin-ticketing bras and panties by the thousands.
Goldie, the foundations manager, was constantly coming to the
marking room demanding more bras and panties. Ugh!
And then there were the 110-pound weight sets that we had to
bring to customers from the third-floor stock room.
I met my best friend there, and we remain so to this day, some
forty-nine years later.
But my most vivid memory of my time at Sears was standing
in the marking room on December 1, 1969 (yes, I'm that old!).
We were intensely listening to the first lottery drawing (based on
your birth date) for the draft on a transistor radio. Most of us were
college students, and it was at the height of the Vietnam War. All of
us were hoping for a high number. We didn't know it at the time,
but the highest number ever drafted ended up being 195. But we
knew higher was better. My number was 300. The guy standing
next to me was 001. He joined the Navy the next day.
Lives affected by Sears? You bet. Sears has also had an impact
on retail loss prevention. Some prominent retail loss prevention
executives have spent at least a part of their careers at Sears,
including Bill Titus (retired), Mark Stinde (now at 7-Eleven),
Tom Arigi (Walmart), Stan Welch (Agilence), Suni Shamapande
(PricewaterhouseCoopers), and Scott Glenn (Home Depot).
So what happened to Sears, which once had 3,500+ stores (with
Kmart), tremendous brand loyalty, and at one time was the largest
employer in the United States? The list of concerns is long and
varied, and there are lots of opinions. In order to understand the
whole story, one really needs to do a fair amount of research. But
here are a few things that led to the beginning of the end:
■ Walmart, Home Depot, and Amazon
■ "Merging" with Kmart
■ Slow mastery of online retail
■ Management shake-ups
■ Lack of investment in stores and product
■ Cutting hours, pay, and headcount, thereby negatively
affecting service
■ Eddie Lampert, if you believe many
As with any bankruptcy filing, it's not over till it's over. But Sears
is a sad story nonetheless. We all want to see what happens, and
most of us will look back on the many ways Sears has impacted our
lives, generally in a positive way.
Walmart Asset Protection in 2018:
Transforming with Technology
By Karen Rondeau
In late August, LPM Media Group was on site at Walmart's
Asset Protection National Meeting in Rogers, Arkansas, where the
theme of the event centers around embracing change to enable the
transformation of the business while reducing losses and accidents.
Walmart AP's transformation journey started three years ago on
their quest to achieve their aggressive shrink goal, and in August
they are able to celebrate the progress that's been made in reducing
unknown shrinkage.
According to Joe Schrauder, vice president of asset protection, the
shrink reduction success was not brought about by just one thing but
rather the combination of many factors working together. Schrauder
spoke to the fact that investments made in the stores and in the
associates are working, but he emphasized that the AP leadership is
to be credited for bringing the strategy to life across 4,700 stores.
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NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 | LOSSPREVENTIONMEDIA.COM